Blog

The mystery of the evolving names of the kalimba Evidence indicates that in 1950, kalimba and karimba were used more or less interchangeably to describe any traditional African thumb piano. Seventy years ago, mbira dzavadzimu meant exactly what it does now – a particular traditional Shona thumb piano – and the mbira nyunga nyunga probably was not even a thing yet. Seventy years ago was just before Hugh Tracey began to build and sell a new instrument which he called a kalimba, which combined features of many traditional instruments and had a western tuning.                                 

Called the “Original Mbira” and the “Kalimba Core” by Andrew Tracey Learn more about the Student Karimba here I have heard from people who were disappointed because they bought “too much kalimba” for themselves – meaning they got more notes than they were prepared to deal with (often, 15 or 17 notes turns out to be too many notes for a beginner). For these people, I recommend they start with a 10-note instrument, as this will be easier to get your head around than the larger kalimbas. Similarly, when people tell me they are disappointed that their “African” kalimba doesn’t play African music, I point them in the direction of

Two Different Colors lets you take instruction from two different sources Learn more about Kalimba Tablature Why are some tines painted? Mainly to help you keep track of where you are on the instrument… but also to assist you in transferring notes from kalimba tablature to the kalimba. There are now two different systems for painting the 17-Note kalimba in C. The Chinese system paints 5 tines, including the central tine. On the other hand, the Kalimba Magic system paints 6 tines. If you want to use the Kalimba Magic instructional materials for the 17-Note kalimba in C, you need to use the Kalimba Magic painting system. If you want

This tiny bit of advanced music theory is very simple on the Freygish karimba CLick to Download 8-page PDF of Freygish Tablature Have you ever heard of a “minor major 7” chord? How about a “half diminished 7” chord? Yeah, at the time I had been playing kalimba as long as you probably have, I didn’t either. On the Freygish karimba, you can make the “C minor major 7” chord by simply playing the four tines on the left side of the upper row. You can play the “D half diminished 7” chord by playing the four tines on the right side of the upper row. In other words, you get

A new eBook with material for this exotic minor tuning Get the A minor Karimba Download Here is a true story. Lex, a Tucson friend of mine who has hit upon hard times, visited us at Kalimba Magic the other day. Months earlier he had given away his beloved African-tuned karimba so he could put a bad relationship which had included that karimba into the past. But he really needed to make music, and he came over to see what instrument I had that might speak to him. While we were talking, we wandered past where Sara was editing the new A minor Karimba book, with an A minor karimba next to her that she would

This eBook is for the Kwanongoma-style 15-Note Karimba in F Get the New Nyunga Nyunga Download Now! The mbira nyunga nyunga, or the 15-Note karimba in F has only been around in this form since 1960. Thousands of Rhodesian (now Zimbabwean) and South African youth were taught the traditional songs on this delightful instrument at the Kwanongoma College of African Music. And, remarkably, it could well be that more than half of the notes on this instrument (and most of the songs for it) are essentially the same as what is thought to be the original tuning of an 8-note instrument invented some 1300 years ago. And now, we are

Humans have transformed the kalimba over millenia. The kalimba can also transform us. The kalimbas that we play and see today seem like very modern instruments, but the kalimba is rooted in many centuries of history and tradition. As is normal for humans, we have been busy remaking the kalimba and transforming these instruments into something new. It’s a process that has been going on for millenia, and people continue to transform the kalimba into something ever more amazing. But why do all of this work, continually remaking the kalimba? In part, because of love. Those who love the kalimba have always sought to improve upon it. In part, because the

These Tips will help you discover new scales on your kalimba – and their format fits perfectly on your phone! Click to Purchase the new Easter Hymns Download Learning your kalimba’s musical scale is very important to understanding your kalimba and the music it can make. The scale is like a magic key that will open many doors. But what if I told you that your kalimba, just as it is, plays several different scales? Each scale is like a universe of musical possibilities. We have ten tips for you about how to use four different scales, on the 17-Note in C, in your music. Each of these four scales

Reinvent your Kalimba, Re-energize your Kalimba Playing Click to go to Tuning Page   If you ever get to the point where you feel your kalimba is old hat, or you cannot think of anything new to do on it, you need to come back to this article. By retuning your kalimba to a new tuning, you basically get a new instrument that presents you with a new world view and plays new music, all for the price of… the five or ten minutes it will take for you to retune your kalimba. You would be amazed – these tunings sound so rich and amazing and different! Just listen to